I seem to be such a chatter box as of late, so I apologize for all the questions. Any way, here is another one spurred again by current events in my dojo. Sensei recently told me and another student we should learn to fold a hakama. I watched people on Monday and tried on Wednesday. (I felt I didn't do that bad of a job and the yudasha I asked to let me try to fold his hakama didn't refold it so I'll consider it a success.)

Anyway, to my understanding it is a tradition that the senior student present fold's the Sensei's hakama. This leads to a few natural questions:

1. Does this happen in your dojo?
2. If the senior student doesn't do it (ie has to leave early OR just dosen't do it) does it fall on the second most senior, ect.?
3. Do you only fold the Sensei of the classes hakama? (Ie if there are two yudansha would my boyfriend and I each fold one hakama?)

Thank you.

Rob Watson

03-29-2012 07:00 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Zoe Toth wrote:
(Post 306644)

Hi all (again),

I seem to be such a chatter box as of late, so I apologize for all the questions. Any way, here is another one spurred again by current events in my dojo. Sensei recently told me and another student we should learn to fold a hakama. I watched people on Monday and tried on Wednesday. (I felt I didn't do that bad of a job and the yudasha I asked to let me try to fold his hakama didn't refold it so I'll consider it a success.)

Anyway, to my understanding it is a tradition that the senior student present fold's the Sensei's hakama. This leads to a few natural questions:

1. Does this happen in your dojo?
2. If the senior student doesn't do it (ie has to leave early OR just dosen't do it) does it fall on the second most senior, ect.?
3. Do you only fold the Sensei of the classes hakama? (Ie if there are two yudansha would my boyfriend and I each fold one hakama?)

Thank you.

Fold your own danged hakama ... or as is tradition let the wife do it! Of course if you offer to fold someone elses that is totally different than someone asking you to fold theirs.

robin_jet_alt

03-29-2012 07:07 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Everywhere I have trained (at least 11 dojos in 5 different styles if you include the ones I just visited) everyone just folded their own hakamas. Having said that, learning to fold one properly is pretty difficult, and when I got my black belt, it took me a while to get it right. Being able to practice on other people's might have been a good way to practice.

Michael Hackett

03-29-2012 07:42 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Generally our custom is to fold Sensei's hakama after class and it usually is performed by a mid-level student who will be wearing a hakama in the near future. No one is asked or told to fold the hakama, but we do it as a matter of respect. It is unusual for someone to fold a yudansha's hakama (unless he or she is teaching that class) but it sometimes happens if the individual is injured or something like that.

Shadowfax

03-29-2012 09:51 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Where I train everyone folds their own hakama including sensei. If we have a guest instructor of high rank such as Heiny sensei then yes one of the students in the dojo will offer to fold her hakama for her.

Janet Rosen

03-29-2012 10:45 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

I have trained in dojos where each person did her own hak, where the instructor's was folded by a sr student, where all yudansha got their's folded by juniors....my personal preference is let each person do her own, but I am definitely a "when in Rome" person.

Lorien Lowe

03-29-2012 11:14 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

A story that is frequently told around my dojo (I didn't witness it, but it's about as traditional as Little Red Riding Hood) is that Sensei and his senior student were at another dojo once for a seminar, and after class Sensei handed his hakama to this senior student and told him to fold it. This wasn't something that was usually done, and the senior student flamboyantly wadded the hakama up and threw it in a corner. It was greeted with both gasps and uproars of laughter, depending on the outlook of the individuals watching.

GMaroda

03-30-2012 12:15 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Cherie Cornmesser wrote:
(Post 306655)

Where I train everyone folds their own hakama including sensei. If we have a guest instructor of high rank such as Heiny sensei then yes one of the students in the dojo will offer to fold her hakama for her.

I think the one they're letting me borrow until my new one gets in used to be Garth's. So technically I'm folding his hakama. :p

tarik

03-30-2012 01:47 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

I don't usually even fold my own hakama. The only way I'd fold sensei's is for the same reason I might fold anyone else's; as a favor or to help in a bad situation. To my way of thinking, it's rather like asking someone else to fold your pants. Oh wait...

Eva Antonia

03-30-2012 02:40 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Hello,

her in Belgium I never heard of folding the teacher's hakama; even our old teacher folded his own when he was already 80 years old. First time that I saw at a seminar some student folding the shihan's hakama, it was a sort of minor cultural shock. I find that somehow disturbing - like Tarik's comparison to "asking someone to fold your pants".

Luckily, I fold my own in such an ugly way no teacher will ever risk his hakama to be put in my hands...

Best regards,

Eva

graham christian

03-30-2012 04:14 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

We had it and viewed it as an honor to fold the teachers Hakama. It was fun and a chance to thank the teacher in silence.

I don't know whether it was traditional or not but just seemed very natural.

Nowadays though I do not ask for the same. It is interesting though as to whether it was an old tradition or not.

Peace. G,

phitruong

03-30-2012 07:48 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

many moons ago, i went to a seminar where, besides the teaching sensei, i was the other asian. after class, everyone was folding his/her/its hakama; the entire floor of folks was folding. i walked into the dressing room, took out my hanger, and hung up my hakama and walked out. folks looked up and saw me with a hakama hung on the hanger and a grin on my face. it's kinda like you go to a chinese restaurant in the US, and all the western folks use chopsticks and the asians use folks and spoons. :)

Walter Martindale

03-30-2012 08:12 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

yeah, mixed bag. I've seen a guy from Singapore who never folds his hakama and I've seen where visiting shihan at seminars have a queue of yudanskis who want to fold his hakama for him. regular dojo sensei fold their own or (as in the case of the guy from Singapore) roll it up and put it in his gym bag...
Cheers,
W

Shadowfax

03-30-2012 08:18 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Greg Maroda wrote:
(Post 306663)

I think the one they're letting me borrow until my new one gets in used to be Garth's. So technically I'm folding his hakama. :p

Hmmm come to think of it I wore that hackama for a while before I got my own as well.....It's a very well trained hackama. Practically folds itself. :D

morph4me

03-30-2012 09:51 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

The last time anyone asked to fold my hakama they did such a great job that I was reluctant to unfold it the next time I put it on. It was a thing of beauty,

We fold our own hakama or put it on hangars, depending on our preference.

Some teachers expect it, some don't. The idea is that having someone else fold their hakama frees the teacher to do other things, like answer questions after class.

IMO the idea of junior yudansha having their hakamas folded for them is ridiculous. But then, everyone in the ASU wears one after their first test, so yudansha aren't up on the pedestal that they are some places.

Katherine

mathewjgano

03-30-2012 11:40 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Zoe Toth wrote:
(Post 306644)

1. Does this happen in your dojo?
2. If the senior student doesn't do it (ie has to leave early OR just dosen't do it) does it fall on the second most senior, ect.?
3. Do you only fold the Sensei of the classes hakama? (Ie if there are two yudansha would my boyfriend and I each fold one hakama?)

Thank you.

Hi Zoe!
At our school, who ever the available senior student is will fold sensei's hakama and everyone else folds their own; when senior students teach, they fold their own hakama.
Take care,
Matt

Garth Jones

03-30-2012 12:28 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Somebody has only ever offered to fold my hakama once. I just get no respect! :-)

Seriously, I like sitting on the mat chatting with everybody while we fold our hakamas. It's a nice way to wind down from class.

Malicat

03-30-2012 03:05 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Phi Truong wrote:
(Post 306678)

many moons ago, i went to a seminar where, besides the teaching sensei, i was the other asian. after class, everyone was folding his/her/its hakama; the entire floor of folks was folding. i walked into the dressing room, took out my hanger, and hung up my hakama and walked out. folks looked up and saw me with a hakama hung on the hanger and a grin on my face. it's kinda like you go to a chinese restaurant in the US, and all the western folks use chopsticks and the asians use folks and spoons. :)

My Sensei keeps his on a hanger as well, but I've been told that the kyu ranks all fold hakamas during summer camp and none of the yudansha fold their own, so he has been letting me fold his for practice. So far, I have determined that I should start apologizing to whomever owns the hakama I touch, because I am really lousy at it.

amoeba

03-30-2012 03:16 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

We fold our own, but after seminars someone normally folds sensei's. Just a nice gesture, the Swedish teachers that visit us fold their own hakama at home, I've trained there and witnessed it...

grondahl

03-30-2012 06:03 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

No. I have only seen at big seminars with foreign (japanese and american) instructors, dont belive that it´s common here.

hughrbeyer

03-30-2012 08:19 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

After class, usually the most senior student will fold our sensei's hakama. This seems to me right and proper.

After a class taught by our most senior student, I heard someone offer to fold his hakama. He responded, "Go away. You're embarrassing me." This also seemed to me right and proper.

Hanna B

03-31-2012 04:03 AM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

Quote:

Alissa Götzinger wrote:
(Post 306699)

We fold our own, but after seminars someone normally folds sensei's. Just a nice gesture, the Swedish teachers that visit us fold their own hakama at home, I've trained there and witnessed it...

Nobody calls them "sensei" at home either. Not when talking Swedish.

lbb

03-31-2012 04:57 PM

Re: Do you fold your Sensei's hakama?

This is always such a great "this is how it's done and you're a dolt/oaf/cult member if you do it any other way" topic.